Digital Commons Network^™

The Roots Of Middle-Earth: William Morris's Influence Upon J. R. R. Tolkien, Kelvin Lee Massey

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the influence of William Morris (1834-1896) upon J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973). It concentrates specifically upon the impact of Morris’s romance, The Roots of the Mountains, upon Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. After surveying the scholarly literature pertaining to this topic, it proceeds to discuss their work within the context of the nineteenth-century revival of interest in the medieval period and in folkloric and mythological narratives. It then analyzes numerous parallels between the two works in characterization; plot motifs; archaic diction, syntax, and semantics; and topographical description and reanimation are then analyzed. These parallels …

Investigation Of Vorticity Confinement As A High Reynolds Number Turbulence Model, Nicholas F. Lynn

Doctoral Dissertations

Vorticity Confinement (VC) is a computational technique used to compute fluid flows with thin vortical regions in an accurate and efficient manner. Recent results have shown that it accurately computes the turbulent wake behind blunt bodies at large Reynolds numbers. Physically, these flows are dominated by thin vortices that convect downstream with the flow, which accounts for the important higher-order velocity statistics. These thin vortices are artificially dissipated with traditional methods, whereas VC can accurately compute them.

VC consists of a set of discrete equations with the confinement appearing as a source term in the discretized momentum equations. The term …

Fabric-On-A-Chip: Toward Consolidating Packet Switching Functions On Silicon, William B. Matthews

Doctoral Dissertations

The switching capacity of an Internet router is often dictated by the memory bandwidth required to bu¤er arriving packets. With the demand for greater capacity and improved service provisioning, inherent memory bandwidth limitations are encountered rendering input queued (IQ) switches and combined input and output queued (CIOQ) architectures more practical. Output-queued (OQ) switches, on the other hand, offer several highly desirable performance characteristics, including minimal average packet delay, controllable Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning and work-conservation under any admissible traffic conditions. However, the memory bandwidth requirements of such systems is O(NR), where N denotes the number of …

A Philosophical Analysis Of Chet Bowers’ Ethical Theory Of Ecojustice: Shifting Towards Uncertainty Thinking In Science Education, Michael Paul Mueller

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to analyze Chet Bowers’ ethical theory of ecojustice as the basis of an ecological philosophy of education that recognizes Earth’s uncertainty. Bowers’ main thesis is that the commons, or what were once shared by members of the community, should be strengthened by education reforms based on ecojustice criteria. He argues for certain ideologies of the local authority of the commons, “Western” science and scientists, and the “ecological crisis.” I argue that these certainties are uncertain, which justifies part certainty as deciphered by local people in places, in relation to others. Further, I develop a …

Stochastic Signal Processing And Power Control For Wireless Communication Systems, Mohammed Mohsen Olama

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with dynamical modeling, estimation and identification of wireless channels from received signal measurements. Optimal power control algorithms, mobile location and velocity estimation methods are developed based on the proposed models.

The ultimate performance limits of any communication system are determined by the channel it operates in. In this dissertation, we propose new stochastic wireless channel models which capture both the space and time variations of wireless systems. The proposed channel models are based on stochastic differential equations (SDEs) driven by Brownian motions. These models are more realistic than the time invariant models encountered in the literature …

Thermodynamic Characterization Of Aminoglycoside-3′-Phosphotransferase Iiia, Can Özen

Doctoral Dissertations

Aminoglycoside-3′-Phosphotransferase IIIa is a widespread, promiscuous member of the phosphotransferase family of aminoglycoside modifying enzymes. This study provides results of combined calorimetry/NMR experiments to characterize and dissect the global thermodynamic properties of aminoglycoside–APH(3′)-IIIa complexes. Aminoglycoside binding to APH(3′)-IIIa is enthalpically driven with strong entropic penalty. 2′- and 6′-amino groups have significant contributions to the observed binding parameters. Formation of APH(3′)-IIIa complexes with substrate aminoglycosides shows a complex dependence on pH and is linked to protonation and deprotonation of both ligand and enzyme groups. We report pK_a upshifts of ~1 unit for N2′ and N2′′′ groups of enzyme-bound neomycin B …

Novel Numerical Approaches For The Resolution Of Direct And Inverse Heat Transfer Problems, Gregory Evan Osborne

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation describes an innovative and robust global time approach which has been developed for the resolution of direct and inverse problems, specifically in the disciplines of radiation and conduction heat transfer.

Direct problems are generally well-posed and readily lend themselves to standard and well-defined mathematical solution techniques. Inverse problems differ in the fact that they tend to be ill-posed in the sense of Hadamard, i.e., small perturbations in the input data can produce large variations and instabilities in the output. The stability problem is exacerbated by the use of discrete experimental data which may be subject to substantial measurement …

Image Segmentation Using Pde, Variational, Morphological And Probabilistic Methods, Yongsheng Pan

Doctoral Dissertations

The research in this dissertation has focused upon image segmentation and its related areas, using the techniques of partial differential equations, variational methods, mathematical morphological methods and probabilistic methods. An integrated segmentation method using both curve evolution and anisotropic diffusion is presented that utilizes both gradient and region information in images. A bottom-up image segmentation method is proposed to minimize the Mumford-Shah functional. Preferential image segmentation methods are presented that are based on the tree of shapes in mathematical morphologies and the Kullback-Leibler distance in information theory. A thorough evaluation of the morphological preferential image segmentation method is provided, and …

For A Moment I Feel Free: Homeless Women And A Garden-Based Learning Program, Catherine Ann Pierce

Doctoral Dissertations

A recent study conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2007) concluded that in January 2005 at least 754,147 people were homeless on an average day. Families with children are the fastest-growing sector of the homeless population and comprise 40% of the homeless population. Most of these families are headed by single women and reside in shelters rather than on the streets. Loss of one’s home, the conditions of shelter life, and the physical and sexual abuse that often precipitate homelessness result in diminished self-efficacy and hope. There is an urgent need to mitigate the psychological traumas …

The Influence Of Selected Wood Characteristics And Composites Production Parameters On The Sorption Behavior Of Wood Materials, Trairat Neimsuwan

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this research was to investigate the influence of selected wood characteristics and composites production parameters on the sorption behavior of wood materials. A better understanding of the sorption behavior of different wood structures and types could be useful in protecting wood against wood deterioration. The differences among tree ring locations within the stem cross-section have not been explained in terms of sorption behavior. The purpose of the first task was to investigate the effect of differences among earlywood, latewood, and tree ring location within the stem crosssection on the water vapor sorption. A loblolly pine (Pinus …

Design Of A Cost-Efficient Reconfigurable Pipeline Adc, Wenchao Qu

Doctoral Dissertations

Power budget is very critical in the design of battery-powered implantable biomedical instruments. High speed, high resolution and low power usually cannot be achieved at the same time. Therefore, a tradeoff must be made to compromise every aspect of those features. As the main component of the bioinstrument, high conversion rate, high resolution ADC consumes most of the power. Fortunately, based on the operation modes of the bioinstrument, a reconfigurable ADC can be used to solve this problem. The reconfigurable ADC will operate at 10-bit 40 MSPS for the diagnosis mode and at 8-bit 2.5 MSPS for the monitor mode. …

Towards Automatic And Adaptive Optimizations Of Mpi Collective Operations, Jelena Pjesivac-Grbovic

Doctoral Dissertations

Message passing is one of the most commonly used paradigms of parallel programming. Message Passing Interface, MPI, is a standard used in scientific and high-performance computing. Collective operations are a subset of MPI standard that deals with processes synchronization, data exchange and computation among a group of processes. The collective operations are commonly used and can be application performance bottleneck. The performance of collective operations depends on many factors, some of which are the input parameters (e.g., communicator and message size); system characteristics (e.g., interconnect type); the application computation and communication pattern; and internal algorithm parameters (e.g., internal segment size). …

Automated Genome-Wide Protein Domain Exploration, Bhanu Prasad Rekepalli

Doctoral Dissertations

Exploiting the exponentially growing genomics and proteomics data requires high quality, automated analysis. Protein domain modeling is a key area of molecular biology as it unravels the mysteries of evolution, protein structures, and protein functions. A plethora of sequences exist in protein databases with incomplete domain knowledge. Hence this research explores automated bioinformatics tools for faster protein domain analysis. Automated tool chains described in this dissertation generate new protein domain models thus enabling more effective genome-wide protein domain analysis. To validate the new tool chains, the Shewanella oneidensis and Escherichia coli genomes were processed, resulting in a new peptide domain …

Identifying The Processes Of Teacher Application And Adoption Of A Novel Instructional Strategy, Jennifer Kathryn Richards

Doctoral Dissertations

Research on adolescent learning shows that students learn best when they are actively engaged with the content and when metacognitive teaching strategies are employed. Despite these findings, current studies show that most classrooms are still teacher centered and that passive learning strategies are the norm. To help teachers incorporate highly effective instructional strategies into their classrooms countless professional development workshops are offered each; yet most of these workshops fail to effect true change in the classroom behavior of teachers.

The design of this study compares teachers’ attempts to employ new instructional strategies within the context of a model curriculum with …

Exploring The Mechanism Of Meiosis In Drosophila Melanogaster: Meiotic Functions Of A Novel Cohesion Protein Solo And A Translation Initiation Factor Vasa, Rihui Yan

Doctoral Dissertations

Sister chromatid cohesion is essential for proper chromosome segregation during meiosis. However, the mechanism of meiotic cohesion in Drosophila is unclear.

We describe a novel protein, SOLO (Sisters On the LOose) that is essential for meiotic cohesion in Drosophila melanogaster. solo mutations cause high nondisjunction of sister and homologous chromatids of sex chromosomes and autosomes in both sexes. In solo males, sister chromatids separate prematurely and segregate randomly during meiosis II. Although bivalents appear intact throughout meiosis I, sister centromeres lose cohesion prior to prometaphase I and orient nearly randomly on the meiosis I spindle. Centromeric foci of SMC1 are …

A Finite Element Study Of The Contact Stiffness Of Homogenous Materials And Thin Films, Haitao Xu

Doctoral Dissertations

The applicability of the stiffness equation S=2E_ra to elastic and elastic-plastic homogeneous materials and thin films on substrates is studied by finite element techniques. It is found that the stiffness equation works well in all these materials provided that a correction factor β is included. For elastic homogenous materials, the correction factor is examined for different friction conditions, Poisson’s ratios, and indenter cone angles. In the case of elastic-plastic indentation with a 70.3° cone, the correction factor is very close to that for elastic indentation of a matching conical hole, which provides a convenient way to model the …

A Study Of Middle School Teachers' Use Of Assessment Team Data From Learning Disability Evaluations, Carole Cavender Witt

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher usage of assessment data from learning disability evaluations received in multidisciplinary team/individualized educational plan (MDT/IEP) meetings. Teacher perception of the helpfulness and usefulness of different types of assessment data, and the helpfulness of different types of data compared to each other were focuses of the study. Effects of teacher characteristics such as type of training received, amount of training received, and the amount of experience possessed on the level of teacher usage of assessment data were analyzed. Effects of teacher participation in referral procedures for students with suspected learning disabilities and …

Soil Carbon And Microfauna Changes As Influenced By Combinations Of Bio-Covers And Cropping Sequences Of Glyphosate Tolerant Corn, Soybean, And Cotton, Jason Patrick Wight

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this research was to compare the effects of combinations of a wide range of cropping sequences and soil bio-covers on soil organic carbon (SOC) and Heterodera glycines under no-tillage. The experiment used a split-block design with four replications at the Milan (RECM) and Middle TN (MTREC) Research & Education Centers. The whole-block treatment was cropping sequences of corn (Zea mays), soybean (Glycine max), and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum). The split-block was bio-covers of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), poultry litter, and fallow. Soil samples were …

Sonochemical And Hydrophobic Modification Of Chitin And Chitosan, Tao Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

Chitin and chitosan are linear polysaccharides consisting of acetyl-glucosamine and glucosamine units with many potential applications in biomedicine, agriculture and food industry. In the food industry, chitosan can be used as antimicrobial agent and to create active packaging to improve food quality and extend shelf life. Commercial applications of chitosan are closely associated with its functional properties and biological activity, which are primarily governed by two structural properties: degree of acetylation (DA) and molecular weight (MW). The overall goal of this study was to develop methods for tailored modification of DA, MW and functionalities of chitosan.

The research was conducted …

Processing And Phase Formation In Zr-Based Bulk-Metallic Glass-Forming Alloys, James Joseph Wall

Doctoral Dissertations

Bulk-metallic glasses have established a formidable presence in the scientific community in recent years, due to a number of properties that are uncharacteristic of metallically-bonded materials. One of the fundamental challenges facing researchers in this field is to develop new and improved processing methods with the ultimate goal of facilitating a large-scale industrial integration of the materials.

The research described herein is directed toward the pursuit of developing and improving upon the current state-of-the art in the science of bulk-metallic glass processing. A number of research and development projects were undertaken in this pursuit. First, the technology to process bulk-metallic …

An Investigation Of The Relationships Among Work Values, Personality Traits, Job Satisfaction, And Career Satisfaction, Shannon Danielle Salyer

Doctoral Dissertations

In this study, the relationships among work values, personality variables, job satisfaction and career satisfaction were investigated. The specific work values assessed in this research included: achievement, autonomy, challenge, creativity, ecology, family, informality, income, leadership, leisure, geographic locale, excitement, work space aesthetics, social responsibility, security, expertise, integrity, power and teamwork. Personality was assessed broadly by using the Big Five personality variables and narrowly, using more specific constructs of personality. An archival data source was used consisting of a sample of 457 employees from various industries. Several research questions were addressed answered including: How are work values related to broad and …

Type I Diabetes Mellitus In Children And Pre-Adolescents: Affective, Behavioral, And Social Correlates, Meredith P. Schwartzman

Doctoral Dissertations

Type I diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is the most common metabolic disorder among children and adolescents (Wysocki, Greco, & Buckloh, 2003) and research has indicated that children with T1DM are more likely to develop clinical depression and anxiety relative to children without T1DM. Building on this literature, the present study utilized a multi-method assessment strategy of self- and parent-reported depression, anxiety, behavioral regulation (i.e. internalizing and externalizing behaviors), social competence, personality, and family dynamics to identify whether preadolescents with T1DM were distinguishable from children without T1DM, and also whether psychosocial differences were evident in the T1DM group as a function of …

Degradation Mechanism Of Expanded Polystyrene (Eps) Foam In Lost Foam Casting, Pips Approach For Synthesis And Novel Expansion Techniques For Cellular Foam, Indraneel Sen

Doctoral Dissertations

Lost Foam Casting (LFC) is a metal casting technology that facilitates fabrication of near-net shape metal castings using expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam patterns that are coated with refractory slurry and is effective for producing aluminum or iron castings of complicated geometry. However, the LFC process can produce considerable amount of scrap due to casting defects. Removing the EPS thermal decomposition products through the ceramic coating ahead of the advancing metal front during the liquid metal pour is a key factor in obtaining a defect free casting. Developing a fundamental understanding of foam degradation mechanism is essential in improving LFC process. …

The Influence Of Level Of Training And Gender On Counseling Outcome In A University Counseling Center, Scott Andrew Sokoloski

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the effects of counselor level of training and gender on counseling outcome in a university counseling center environment. Data was collected from an archival database of approximately 4500 clients seen over a six-and-a-half year time period at a mid-sized Southeastern university counseling center. The Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 was used to measure client outcome, which consists of 45-items scored on a five-point Likert scale. The OQ produces three subscale scores (Symptom Distress, Interpersonal Relations, and Social Role) and a Total Score. The Social Role subscale was found to have low reliability in this study, and was omitted from …

A Study Of Indentation Creep Using The Finite Element Method, Sangjoon Sohn

Doctoral Dissertations

Indentation is a useful technique for studying the mechanical properties of a material. Measurable mechanical properties from indentation include time-dependent as well as time independent properties. Among these mechanical properties, time-dependent permanent deformation (creep) is of interest in this study. The purpose of this study is to explore the behavior of creep deformation of a solid under indentation. The main scientific research tool will be the finite element method.

Existing works by others provide limited solutions that allow us to correlate uniaxial creep to indentation creep. In this study, the task is taken a step further to enhance and modify …

Advanced Microscopy Techniques For The Molecular Scale Analysis And Physical Characterization Of Escherichia Coli Spheroplasts, Claretta Jackson Sullivan

Doctoral Dissertations

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) holds a unique position in microbiology because of its potential for nanometer (nm) scale imaging and piconewton (pN) force detection. These features can be exploited to characterize bacteria from the cellular down to the molecular level. In order to pursue such characterization studies, reliable sample preparation techniques must be developed. Spheroplasts are bacteria which have been treated with enzymes to remove cell wall components. Because the cytoplasmic membrane is exposed in spheroplasts, they are suitable for localizing transporters and other membrane proteins using AFM techniques. Constituents on the surface of intact bacteria are responsible for their …

Weblogs Used As Online Discussion Boards In The Secondary Classrooms, Kevin Mark Thomas

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of weblogs as discussion boards (WeBo) in a secondary English department. Five classes of students enrolled in English in the fall of 2006 and their three teachers were organized into four groups. Groups 1 and 2 were made up of two sections of advanced placement English, twelfth and eleventh grades. Group 3 consisted of two lower level sections of 11 Regular English, and Group 4 consisted of one section of tenth grade College Prep. All of the group–members’ assignments were posted on the WeBo by their teachers. Participation by all …

A Generic Prognostic Framework For Remaining Useful Life Prediction Of Complex Engineering Systems, Alexander V. Usynin

Doctoral Dissertations

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) is a general term that encompasses methods used to evaluate system health, predict the onset of failure, and mitigate the risks associated with the degraded behavior. Multitudes of health monitoring techniques facilitating the detection and classification of the onset of failure have been developed for commercial and military applications. PHM system designers are currently focused on developing prognostic techniques and integrating diagnostic/prognostic approaches at the system level. This dissertation introduces a prognostic framework, which integrates several methodologies that are necessary for the general application of PHM to a variety of systems. A method is developed …

Integrating Mass Spectrometry Based Proteomics And Bioinformatics Technologies For The Molecular Level Characterization Of Shewanella Oneidensis To Chromate Exposure, Melissa Renee Thompson

Doctoral Dissertations

The research outlined in this dissertation involves the development and demonstration of a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach to characterize the global level molecular response of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 to chromate exposure. The proteomics approach is centered on a high performance technique of multidimensional on-line liquid chromatographic separations with subsequent tandem mass spectrometric detection. Since very complex proteome samples are digested into peptides and then directly measured by MS, this technique is termed shotgun proteomics. This approach affords the identification and quantification of complex mixtures by directly analyzing their proteolytic peptides and then using computational techniques to reassemble the protein information. …

Theoretical Modeling And Experimental Validation Of In Vivo Mechanics For Subjects Having Variable Cervical Spine Conditions, Fei Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this study was to use the state-of-art 3D-to-2D registration technologies including fluoroscopic, CT and MRI methods to analyze 2D and 3D in vivo kinematics of the whole cervical spine under variable conditions; and use inverse dynamic model based on Kane’s dynamics to predict their 2D and 3D in vivo interactive contact and muscular forces. Totally, forty patients (ten having normal cervical spines, ten having degenerative cervical spines, ten having anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF), and ten having cervical artificial disc replacement (CADR)) were enrolled into 2D study and three patients (one having normal cervical spines, one …